Connie, one of our after school nannies

Options for after school care in London

If you’re thinking about your options for after school care in London you’ve come to the right place. We’ve pulled together your options to help you make the right choice.

Family

Got local family nearby who can pick up your kids from school and look after them until you get home? Able to work from home yourself, or do compressed hours and make it to the school gate by 3.30pm? Lucky you. Don’t go on about it, you’ll make the rest of us feel bad.

After school clubs

At their best, after school clubs can be tons of fun, and super cheap. If your child loves your school’s one and you can get the days you need, brilliant.  

Unfortunately, school budget cuts are endangering school-based after school services, and many are closing or shrinking as teachers are stretched thin with many demands on their time.

Some children don’t like after school clubs and would rather be at home after a long school day; and some parents want their children to do activities that the after school club doesn’t offer, like languages, music or sports.  

In summary, after school clubs are not for everyone—but for some families, they’re a lifeline.

Childminder

We’re huge fans of childminders. Great childminders are flexible, experienced and local—three fantastic pluses for after school care. They often know the schools really well, and the best ones provide a lovely and fun home environment for the kids.

The main challenge with childminders is that there aren’t enough of them around. The best ones are often full up or don’t pick up from the school your children go to. Like after school clubs, childminders also may not be the right solution for families whose children do activities like sports, dance or music after school, or for parents who don’t want to do a pickup from the childminder’s home.

Nanny

An after school nanny is the most flexible choice of childcare. As a parent, you are the nanny’s employer—so you can decide whether the nanny takes your children home, or to activities, when and where homework is done, and what food is eaten. It’s also a very convenient choice, as by the time you get home, your children are already sorted out along with their things for the next day. 

The biggest challenge has traditionally been that it’s nigh on impossible to actually find a good after school nanny, and since they’re rare as hen’s teeth they usually charge a huge amount as well.

That’s where Koru Kids comes in. We’ve trained up a small army of fantastic university students as after school nannies, charging reasonable prices with no hidden fees.

We’d love to tell you loads more about how the service works. For details, start exploring here.

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